Assessment of friction loss to horizontally built fluid passages using additive manufacturing

Selective laser melting (SLM), is a type of additive manufacturing, which selectively melts a pre-spread layer of metal powders and produce a part by a layer-on-layer manner. SLM has demonstrated a great potential to reduce size and weight in hydraulic manifolds. However, a theoretical base is lacking since friction loss is unclear in a SLMed fluid passage. In this study, various fluid passages without supports, from diameters from 4 mm to 16 mm, were produced horizontally using SLM. The profile was measured using a 3D scanner and surface roughness was measured using a confocal laser scanning microscope. Friction factor was studied using simulation, experiments, and classical theory. The hydraulic diameter of the SLMed passages is smaller than the design diameter. Surface roughness is extremely high on the top part of the inner wall while the rest part is around 10 μm. Such trends are irrelevant of passage diameters. Friction factors in SLMed passage is much larger than those predicted using Moody theory, particularly in laminar flow. The transition from laminar flow to turbulent flow appears at a smaller Reynolds number with increased passage diameter. The influence of the profile overweighs that of the surface roughness on friction factor.